Health is a fundamental human right, recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the World Health Organization (WHO) Constitution (1948). The right to health, according to the WHO, includes “the right to control one’s health, informed consent, bodily integrity, and participation in health-related decision-making”. Access to the right to health is linked to the right to work and the right to education. It also includes “nondiscriminatory access to quality, timely and appropriate health services and systems and to the underlying determinants of health”.

Access to healthcare is often quite difficult for the average Bahamian. We regularly hear stories of long waits in emergency rooms, and long waits in private doctors’ offices have come to be expected. There is a greater need for healthcare than we seem to have the capacity to reasonably provide. Many doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals pull from their reserve and depend on their passion for the medical practice and helping patients to keep going on long shifts.

To receive adequate healthcare, one needs time, money, and human support. employers tell us how many days we are allowed to be sick in a calendar year. A lunch hour is often not enough time to get a prescription filled, so no one would even bother trying to see a doctor on break. The demand is high. Our health situation is changing. People are living longer which means we have more elderly people and they are more vulnerable to illnesses, in addition to the physical changes to that take place over time. People with children see illnesses cycle through their households as soon as their children start going to daycare or attending preschool.

With new viruses going around, many of which have similar symptoms, many of us are less likely to just take cold and cough medicine or take bush medicine. “It is better to know than to not know,” people say. It is better to see a professional, get their opinion, and then get a second opinion if needed. This is much easier for people who have time to walk at a walk-in clinic or get a same-day appointment than for those who need to be at work, do school drop-off and pick-up, check in on elderly family members, shop for grocery, and cook dinner.

Far too many people, it is scary to have an annual physical. Beyond the fear of needles or being scolded, there is a real fear of being diagnosed with anything that cannot be helped with over-the-counter medication. What happens after diagnosis, assuming a patient can get the requisite testing done? There may be expensive medications and other treatment plans that the patient cannot afford. even if they can manage for a short time, what happens when they run out of resources? For people who do not have health insurance, there is the added issue of not being able to get insurance after being diagnosed with certain conditions. Everything is not covered by NHI, and all treatments are not available in the Bahamas.

In recent years, there have been many calls for assistance for people in desperate need for medical treatment. GoFundMe campaigns circulate frequently as family members and friends try to help their loved ones to get the healthcare their lives depend on. Before GoFundMe, there were cookouts. Someone was always selling steak and chicken tickets or souse tickets in an effort to raise money to cover medical expenses. We are forced to find ways, beyond our own pay checks, to help each other to survive. there are medications, there are treatments, and there are cures. Then there are the exorbitant fees to access them. looking at the common noncommunicable diseases in The Bahamas, we need to find ways to encourage, and make possible, prevention, and we need to be equipped to respond to the crises resulting from hereditary and environmental factors.

Depending on the kindness of people, especially strangers, is difficult and terrifying when life is at stake. Some people have more luck than others for reasons that vary greatly. For every person who needs financial assistance for healthcare, there is a story to be told about their education, their professional life, their service to and care for others, and their contributions to the country. there are ways that way must prove the value of human beings — our loved ones - as we ask for help to keep them alive. We appeal to the good that is within people. We convince people that every little bit really does matter, because it does. We ask people to share, share, share the fundraising campaigns. We try to work with social media algorithms to get as many people to see our pleas as possible. It becomes an unpaid part time job for some, a full time job for others, to keep donations rolling in for the most important cause of all—human life.

We practice mutual aid. even as we struggle to meet our needs, we give the $10, $20, $50, $100, $250, because we know that it matters. We know that our day may come, and the collective $10, $20, $100, $250 contributions may keep us going for long enough to overcome the health challenges that rear their heads. We do this, over and over again, because we must. At the same time, we must look for a more sustainable way to secure healthcare for all. We have to do them both, at the same time. this is the beauty of community—that we give of ourselves, sharing whatever we have, and that we band together to create and demand the implementation of new, efficient systems for everyone’s benefit.

Last week, we learned that Dr Ajita Wallace-Pinder was in heart failure and in need of financial support to get the medical care she desperately needed, and still needs today. On Friday, July 26, Ajita was transported to Health City Hospital in the Cayman Islands, accompanied by a team of doctors. She underwent surgery for the placement of a left ventricular assist device (lVaD). the lVaD is a battery-operated pumps that helps the left ventricle to pump blood to the aorta, a large artery that takes oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. It is important to note that, while it can improve quality of life, the lVaD is not a cure for heart failure. Its benefits include the reduction of symptoms, improvement of organ function, and increased strength for a range of activities. For Ajita, the lVaD is a bridge-to-transplant therapy, intended to assist her until she is able to get a heart transplant. With this new device implanted in her chest, Ajita will be closely monitored. Hospital stays following lVaD surgery average two to three weeks.

Ajita’s family has expressed deep gratitude to the people who have supported her through monetary donations, prayers, and other contributions. Up to four o’clock yesterday afternoon, $102,731 was raised of the $200,000 goal. Much more will be needed to see Ajita through the next few weeks and through to her heart transplant. Continued contributions are both welcome and necessary for Ajita’s post-surgery care and her eventual heart transplant. Please continue to donate to and share the GoFundMe campaign called “Help Ajita get a new heart...” at gofund.me/43194ccc.

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1. Lies and Other Love Languages by Sonali Dev. every family has its secrets, but some are deeper than others. From the story of two best friends to the story of a happy family, it is difficult to imagine the in-betweens that this book slowly reveals. Vandy is an advice columnists, viewed by many as a kind of guru, who is still mourning the death of her husband one year later. Her daughter Mallika is struggling to make her way as a choreographer. Rani back in Mumbai with a new life and family she is determined to keep. One chance event leads to a search for answers that necessitates the opening of old wounds.

2. The Bear. The television drama series got widespread viewership in season one, and season two took an unexpected turn in tone. In season one, we see Carmen return to his family’s restaurant in Chicago, charged with running it by his recently deceased brother who left it to him. Carmen had traveled and worked in some of the most incredible restaurants in the world, all to prove to himself, and to his brother, that he could do it. He desperately wants to be an excellent chef. the restaurant, in the state he meets it, does not seem like it will bring what he wants, so he starts hacking away it to create something else, dragging a sometimes-reluctant-sometimes-enthusiastic staff with him. there is family drama, but it is really what happens in the kitchen that intrigues, surprises, and keeps viewers talking. Jeremy allen White is the complicated Carmen, Ayo Edebiri plays Sydney and is an obvious favorite, and Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina is a key ingredient to the Bear.

3. Lupita Nyong’o on Hot Ones. Hot Ones is a show on the Youtube channel First We Feast, hosted by Sean Evans. Celebrities are invited to participate in an interview while eating wings with progressively hotter or spicier sauces on them. They are challenged to keep the conversation going and to make it through the entire flight of wings without tapping out. their reactions throughout the challenge tend to be funny. Some people are convinced that it will be a breeze while others are quite apprehensive. Lupita Nyong’o is an Academy, Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe award winning actress who is widely loved. Her episode is 24 minutes and 27 seconds long. Her confidence starts to waver when she gets to the hot sauce called “Red Flag” and she strays from answering the questions to commenting on the heat, but her competitive nature would not let her stop. She is very easy to like, so it seems wrong that the last third of the episode is so funny.